The Division of the Alphabet into Ten and Twelve

380. In the secret and concealment of the alphabet, which are twenty-two letters, there are ten upper letters: Aleph-Bet Gimel-Dalet Hey-Vav Zayin-Het Tet-Yod, and twelve other letters that turn many wheels and roll in the letters, and never change. This is so because the wine of Torah expands from here. It is not that they come out from these letters, but from their concealment.

The twenty-two letters are divided into RTS [Rosh-Toch-Sof (head-interior-end)], which are Bina, ZA, and Malchut. From Aleph to Yod is Bina, from Yod to Kof is ZA, and from Kof to Tav is Malchut. Each degree is built from these three vessels Bina, ZA, and Malchut.

Here it speaks of the twenty-two letters in ZA. There are ten upper letters from Aleph to Yod, which are Bina of ZA, his Rosh [head]. There, the name Mem-Bet (42) governs, which is covered from Hochma. Twelve other letters that turn into many wheels are the Toch [interior] and Sof [end] of ZA, the vessels of ZA and Malchut of ZA, which turn into several colors white, red, and green, since the name AB is revealed in them, which draws Hochma.

The colors roll to shine in the letters since in the first ten letters, the Rosh of ZA, there is no illumination of Hochma since the name Mem-Bet shines there, which is covered from Hochma. For this reason, there is no color there. Only in the Toch and Sof of ZA, which are ZA and Malchut of ZA, the name AB rules, extending Hochma. Hence, the colors shine there, which are illumination of Hochma.

Although the letters roll on the three colors white, red, and green, they do not change from the white color in them, Hesed, since in ZA, Hesed, governs, and the rest of the colors annul before it.

The wine of Torah comes out from these twelve letters, which is illumination of Hochma, the red color. However, it is not that they emerge from these letters, but rather from their concealment. Since ZA diminishes and hides the GAR of Hochma of the left, by which it unites him with the right, illumination of VAK of Hochma is revealed from it. It follows that revealing the Hochma is extended from the concealment of GAR of Hochma. Hence, although ZA is always under the control of Hesed, he can draw Hochma for Malchut.

381. Because all the letters emerge from the top dot, upper Hochma, upper AVI, which is covered and concealed, since AVI are always in covered Hassadim and do not receive Hochma unless for YESHSUT, and she is the meaning and the entirety of the Torah, since AVI are the origin and entirety of ZA, who is called Torah, but the letters were not inscribed in the top dot since there is no disclosure of Hochma there until they come into a hidden hall, and from there the letters emerged.

They were moist, and afterwards congealed. “Moist” means that each one permeated her neighbor’s boundary, as moist things do, for their boundaries are not solid.

In YESHSUT, the two lines right and left of the letters came out, and there was a dispute between them, as each wanted to enter her neighbor’s domain, as moist things do, until ZA rose for MAN and diminished the GAR of the left with the screen of Hirik, and a middle line was made, uniting right and left and sustaining the illumination of both of them—for the right to shine from above downward, and for the left from below upward. At that time, the boundary of the letters became strong and solid, meaning that in YESHSUT, they were moist, and through ZA, they were congealed.